to those of you who had the audacity to leave the priesthood session before the closing hymn was over

Don't think we didn't see you. Everyone saw you. For crying out loud, stay sitting down until the meeting - in its entirety - is over. You'll be fine if you get home ten minutes later. Show some respect for the meeting. Honestly.

And don't think that I don't have my eyes on you, people who leave devotional before the closing prayer is given. You're next on my list.

Oh Wow.

I may have just recieved an email with a picture attatched. The picture may be of a new mother and her baby. And the new mother may be wearing a Cecil is my Homeboy shirt. Wow. Oh Wow.

Music Mania

Do you ever hear songs that you get completely hung up on? Here's my current top 10, in no particular order:

1. "Dog Problems" by The Format. BRILLIANT. It just is. I've seriously become obsessed with this song."Dog Problems" is a bizarre blend of rock/folk/pop/Sesame Street/New Orleans/stream-of-consciousness/genius-ness. You think you have this song all figured out at first, until the bridge rips your heart out. I still can't find mine.

2. "Heavy Metal Drummer" by Wilco. Wilco is one of those bands that nobody knows about, but everybody SHOULD know about. Listen to them. Love them.

3. "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. Snow Patrol has this uncanny ability to write songs that just get me right in the gut. I hate that this song has gotten popular recently, because I somehow feel it downplays the actual physical reaction I got the first time I heard it. It still gets me everytime, but now I have to share it. I hate that. And to add insult to the injury, "Run" is now in the trailer for "The Guardian"? What is that all about? Another song that really hit me hard, and now it's in an Ashton Kutcher movie. It's insulting. All the same, you just have to listen to this band. They're incredible.

4. "Skeleton Key" by Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. Like nothing I've ever heard before. Beautiful and haunting, self-deprecating, but with a sense of humor. A band I'm expecting big things from.

5. "Head On" by The Pixies. Oh, Pixies. I can't listen to this song and NOT bob my head like an idiot. It can't be done.

6. "Baba O'Reiley" by The Who. I would recommend playing this song when you get up in the morning. Once the piano makes its appearance, you feel like you can kick the day's butt.

7. "Cut Your Hair" by Pavement. This song just makes me ridiculously happy. That is reason enough for it to make the top 10.

8. "So Says I" by The Shins. I love The Shins. They are like the sixties with an added dose of awkwardness.

9. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" by Arctic Monkeys. This song just kind of makes me want to yell. I don't really know why. I just want to get onto a dance floor and yell. A lot. And then dance like a madman. A lot.

10. "Philosophy" by Ben Folds. Ben had to be included somewhere. He's a bloody genius. This song has to be my favorite, though. This guy is freaking insane on the piano. It almost makes me want to practice piano....wait, no, the feeling passed, because I can never be that good.

That was seriously difficult to condense my list to ten. So many great bands out there. Holy! Anyway, try something new, friends! Music makes the world go 'round! (Among other things).

White and Nerdy

Over the years I have been forced to admit the fact that I am a nerd. I owned my first computer years before I had my own car. Java, to me, isn't an island or a term for caffeinated beverage. I was once ranked in the top 1000 players in the world at Instagib CTF Unreal Tournament. I can do more with my phone than many people can do with a computer. I can't dance. At all.

So, with a history like that, it is no wonder why I fell in love with "Weird Al" Yankovic's new music video. A parody of the Chamilionaire rap "Ridin'", "Weird Al's" rendition is a nerd anthem.

With that said, I invite my fellow nerds to check out the video. Oh... and keep your eyes open for the Donny Osmond cameo. That's right... I said Donny Osmond.

10 reasons to go on living

(in no particular order.)

1. The new Decemberists CD coming out on October 3. Their last two albums (Her Majesty the Decemberists and Picaresque) have been nothing short of fantastic. I expect nothing less from this new one. There's really nothing bad you can say about a band that employs nautical themes into their music on a regular basis. Same goes for a band that uses the word "priory" in their lyrics. It's wonderful. Pick it up on the 3rd.

2. Author Nick Hornby. If you haven't read anything by him, you're really missing out. His famous books like About a Boy and High Fidelity are both really good, but his lesser-known books like Songbook are just as excellent. He's a tremendously accessible writer. I don't know anyone who has read anything by him who hasn't completely enjoyed it. I recommend About a Boy first, but you can really start wherever you'd like.

3. The Office. It's back on TV. Thursday nights at 7.30. It's not too late to start watching it. Watch a few episodes and catch up on what you've missed by either reading up on it on Wikipedia or by renting the DVDs from Blockbuster or something (or a friend - tons of people own the DVDs).

4. Bacon. 'Nuff said.

5. Amelie. Quite possibly one of the best movies in existence. If you're ever feeling down, find a copy of this movie and devote two hours of your life toward feeling better. You'll experience "waves of euphoria," as a good friend of mine described it. You won't regret it.

6. Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency. If you don't already read this, you're really missing out. McSweeney's posts ridiculously hypereducated humorous essays that will just make you laugh yourself silly. Personal favorites of mine include lists such as "Businesses that Failed to Duplicate the Success of 'I Can't Believe It's Not Yogurt'" and open letters to entities that are unlikely to respond (like the nest of pigeons living outside your window). Absolutely hilarious.

7. Toothpaste for Dinner. Quite possibly the single greatest webcomic in existence. It's completely random, yes, but intensely funny. You're cheating yourself out of some serious enjoyment if you don't visit this site on a regular basis.

8. The 100 Hour Board. I would be seriously remiss if I didn't at least make passing reference to this. Online question and answer forum. The answer to any question you can think of in 100 hours. No catch. Try it and be amazed.

9. Kingdom of Loathing. This is the most intensely fun role-playing game I've ever participated in. It's a game dedicated to making fun of RPGs as well as providing an endless supply of puns and witty pop culture references. It's fantastic. If you appreciate things that are funny, you'll want to at least take a look at this.

10. The interrobang. This page will link you to a column entitled Interrobang, but that's not what I'm referring to. Take a look at the punctuation mark at the end of the title. It's simultaneously an exclamation point and a question mark. Pretty cool, eh?

Keep on truckin'. There's plenty to look forward to, dear readers.

More ways to waste time effectively.

So I'm sitting in class in the trailer behind the Amanda Knight Building, and I turn to my friend sitting next to me and ask if she knows any good ways to waste a few minutes. The results were pleasantly surprising. And now I pass the savings on to you.

Our first winner is called Stuff On My Cat. It's a website full of pictures (submitted by good folks like yourself) where people have piled stuff on their cat. For example, in this photo someone has piled a few pillows on their cat. I fully endorse this behavior.

The caveat, though, is that dumb people have gotten ahold of this site and submitted photos of their own cat wearing a Zorro costume, or a princess crown, or whatever, and it really ruins the whole idea of the site. But, regardless, there's enough good stuff to make it worth your (wasted) time.

The other site actually came from my teacher. He made the mistake of showing us this site right at the beginning of class, and I've been fascinated with it for about the past hour. It doesn't really seem to have a name, but I'll call it the George W. Bush Falling Ragdoll. It's President Bush. And he falls through these big round things. And he bounces off. I can't think of a single time when I've had this much fun.

The best part is grabbing him (by clicking on him with the mouse), and dragging him through cracks between bubbles that he shouldn't fit through. This may also be the most confident I've seen the President look in a while.

That's all I've got... I should probably start paying attention now.

Glad I got a Movie Today

So, here's a thought.
Some BYU guys entered a film contest where YOU are the judge. Can you believe it? YOU! Anyway, The Project has this college film contest, and the people who come to the site get to vote for which is the best. And lets be honest. The ones from BYU are the best. I know it. You know it. Its time the rest of the world knew it too. So go and let them know! The films are "Glad I Got a Sword Today" by Seth Warburton and Steve Shimek, and "Major Sampson" by Eric Anderson. Go, Vote, there's a lot on the line for these guys. They are in the third phase of voting, and the third segment in their respective trilogies.

Score one for Gloria Steinem...sort of.

Well, it finally happened. After careful deliberation, heated debate, and the loss of (more) hair on behalf of the Cecil team, the Cecil Blog has finally decided to add some well-needed estrogen to the mix.

Now before you get yourself too excited over diversity finally making its way to the “blogging scene,” it must be understood that sinister forces were at work here. You see, while it may seem like a great civil stride was made in taking on a female to an all-male blog, the Cecil team knew full well what they were doing in approaching me to contribute:

They were not hiring a true female.

Don’t get me wrong. I am full-blooded woman and darn proud of it. Rosie the Riveter and I are tight. But while I do have a pension towards towering heels and excessive amounts of purses, my speech, writing style, and overall personality reek of a different gender. Growing up with men your whole life will do that to you. I don’t giggle. I guffaw. I’m more sarcastic than most men. I’ll call you a moron if you deserve the title. I’m crass. I’m crude. I enjoy making people uncomfortable. Whatever pops into my head is usually what comes out of my mouth. . "A Walk to Remember" makes me gag. Spike TV is better than the Oxygen network. And darnit….Jet Li is the man.

Thus the opinion that you’ll get from me won’t be distinctly female, as I’m sure was the creator’s intent. But I’m happy to be apart of this blog, all the same—even if it’s only because they needed a chick on board. These guys are awesome, and they’ve worked hard on this site. To be a small part of it is truly a pleasure. The Cecil team is composed of my homeboys. Future posts will not be so lengthy and will actually have a point.

But so you get your female input dosage for the day: Men—just say no to socks and sandals.

Represent!

So, Last week I was walking through my living room and looked up at the end of a commercial for a new show on MTV called "sportsblender" and I yelled "THATS BRIAN PETERSON!" but then the commercial was over.

Brian was a friend of my sisters when she was here and I was still in high school. He was a film student, he was in final cut (the student film festival) a few years ago. Anyway, he went to BYU and now he has a show on MTV. He got to interview Lebron James, which isn't bad. Be sure to check out all his clips on youtube, in the explore more videos box.

I think we should all give Brian a little shout out. Ask him why his movie never played out here. He made a feature length gig a while ago, and I don't know about you guys, but I feel like if a BYU student does well enough to make a full movie, we should try to get it shown out here somewhere. On campus or movies 8, SOMEWHERE. Anyway, stop by their site, leave your mark, show some love. Way to go, Brian!

Here is his email. Don't worry, I asked him if this was okay.

brianspost@gmail.com

Too Much

Stupid Computer.

I started to write a blog the other day and my computer crapped out on me. I've had that thing for two years, and it has only given me problems. I don't know why I have this curse, this love hate relationship with technology.

That being said, am I the only one who is feeling bogged down in work, even though its only the...what...third week of school? I feel like too much is expected of us students, or maybe its just that we expect too much of ourselves. Go to school, get a job, go on dates, magnify your calling...oh...and don't forget to RELAX and HAVE FUN! Sometimes seems contradictory to me. I'm a firm believer that we live in a world of unavoidably mixed signals, and its a heck of a job to sift through them all and decide what to do with every day.

And the winner is... (drum roll please)

Boy howdy. This was fun. We had a slow turnout at first, but at the end we had people coming out of the woodwork. I hope y'all kept your tickets... the winner is:

Ticket #523608

If you have this ticket, get ahold of us ASAP. We haven't printed up the hoodies yet, so we'll even let you choose your color. To everyone who didn't win: It's not so bad--you all tied for second place.

We should have another contest like this. What a kick in the pants.

Googlearchy

I have to say, sometimes Google amazes me. There is definitely a reason they are number one in just about everything having to do with the internet. Okay, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point.

Recently, the geniuses at Google were faced with a dilemma. They wanted a way to make their image search more effective. One of the most effective ways to do this would be to assign keywords pertinent to each image, also known as "Tagging." But how to undertake such a monumental task? There are millions and millions of images on the internet, and image recognition software is not nearly sophisticated enough for the process to be automated. It would have to be done by hand.

Google's solution? Turn it into a game, and get someone else to do it for you.

I was quickly sucked in after finding the Google Image Labeler a few weeks back. You are paired randomly with another participant, and given 90 seconds to "tag" as many pictures as possible, neither participant being able to see what the other is suggesting. As soon as you and your partner suggest a matching tag, it moves on to the next image. After your time has expired, you are able to see exactly what suggestions your partner was making. It is intriguing to see the different ways people have of describing what they see. Some focus on actions, while others objects, and some focus more on colors and shapes.

Give it a shot! Help Google make the internet a better place, and have a little fun at the same time.

The Competition

Okay, so its not really a competition, its more of a contest. But I couldn't get the voice of strong bad out of my head on this one.

Anyway, this is the gig. Tomorrow, President Samuelson will speak at the Campus Devotional. We here at Cecilismyhomeboy.com thought, since he is our namesake and all, that we would play a little game in his honor. Wear your "Cecil" shirt to the devotional tomorrow and you could win. Or if you don't have one, buy one from us, because we will be there with shirts. Anyway, come find us outside of the Marriott Center, and you will get a raffle ticket if you have your shirt on. Don't know what we look like? Well thats part of the fun, you have to find us. We'll have our Cecil shirts on too. When you find us, we'll give you a raffle ticket, and that gets you into the contest for...

A FREE CECIL HOODIE!!!

Thats right, campers, we're gonna make some hoodies, and you can be the VERY FIRST to get your mits on one. Just Wear your Shirt tomorrow, get a raffle ticket, and we'll announce the winner tomorrow on the Blog.

Cool? We think so.

P.S. Did you guys see President Monson Speak on Sunday? And Elder Eyring? And of course, President Samuelson? Man, I love those guys.

Oh, and remember five years ago today? So do I.

"and I don't feel any different"

Death Cab for Cutie's song "The New Year" begins with the lyric, "So this is the new year; I don't feel any different. This is a common feeling, I think, for most people. Flipping the page on a calendar doesn't fundamentally change a whole lot in our lives. I feel no more different on January 1 than I would on, say, any given Monday. I had a particularly bad week last week, and more than a few people told me that I'd feel better once the new week started, as though entering a new row on the calendar would alter the reality that I live in. (Predictably, not much changed with the shift from Sunday to Monday.)

It's a new year, dear readers, and I don't feel any different. That's not to say that I feel indifferent to the coming year or that I'm cynical toward the future. Rather, I just feel like my life is plugging right along at the same pace that it always has. There's little sense in relying on the calendar to make your life interesting, really. Why wait for a new week, month, or year in the hopes that something interesting will happen to you when you can make something interesting happen now?

Mind you, that doesn't mean that I have anything interesting going on tonight.

Happy New Year, I guess.

So another school year is here, and so far it looks a lot like the last one. We'll see, I guess. I'm sitting here in my new apartment, listening to "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, and mustering up the courage to plunge into another school year. It's a bit like ripping off a scab.

The good news is that we've got some big plans for the site here.

First things first--we've got some new contributors to the blog. Optimistic (of 100-Hour Board fame) and the Canasian (known for his distinct Canadian/Asian brand of coolness) have joined the blog team, and they're cooler and more interesting than I am. So that's good news for everybody. I'll let them introduce themselves better, if they want.

The other good news is that we've got some sweet stuff planned that I'm not totally going to give away just yet. Part of it will roll out in two weeks. The other part is some rockin' new stuff to wear.

Specifically, stuff to wear for anybody else who is taking a deep breath before ripping this dang thing off.